How not to starve in NAIA

After last month’s siomai horror story in NAIA, I made a plan not to starve while waiting in the airport.
Jeroen and I had a 12:25 noon flight to Hong Kong. Which means we would have to leave the house at 10 AM.
Since I don’t eat breakfast and I don’t eat in the plane, I knew I should eat before boarding the plane.
We all know there are no decent food choices in NAIA, so I made a quick decision to sneak in Jollibee inside my bag.
I got the idea from a Japanese tourist, who my sister and I saw hand-carrying a bag of Max’s fried chicken in NAIA in 2011.

Drawing: Ana Zamora

We passed by a Jollibee drive-thru near the airport—so near there was no time left to eat it in the car.
So I snuck it in my bag. It passed through all the X-rays.
Thirty minutes later, I was sitting in a secluded corner of the Cathay Pacific first class lounge (less tao).

I transfered the contents to normal plates and threw out all evidence of Jollibee packaging.
Thank God nobody saw and nobody cared.

Unfortunately no regular Coke in the lounge, so I had to step out and buy one.
I found some young Korean tourists looking around in the pathetic siomai booth and felt sorry and embarrassed for them.
When oh when will NAIA have decent food?
P.S. This is not a sponsored post by Jollibee. Next time I will probably sneak in McDonald’s.

I had a flight to catch in NAIA Terminal 1 in 2009. It was a 2AM flight so I was really in need of a midnight snack at the airport. I bought this really sad cheesedog sandwich with few grated cheese and mayonnaise. That was the last thing I ate before i got seriously food poisoned for a week. I had to go to the toilet every 30 minutes. It ruined my whole trip. I hated NAIA for selling those sandwiches and have never trusted any airport cafe here ever since.

cecile how can you say that the food in cathay pacific lounge is not edible.
we love the assortment of sandwiches (tuna my daughters fave)
the nuts, they have diff kind of sodas, beer, and the lugaw taste great.
sanay ka kasi sa fast food e.

It is ironic because Filipino food is really quite delicious
when made and presented right. There should be a variety of recognisable fast
food outlets in the airport for convenience and familiarity (for the outbound
tourists). But it is also a great opportunity to present Filipino foods to the
tourists on their way home to remember their visit by, as well as giving
outbound Filipinos their last Filipino meal before departing for foreign lands.

NAIA 1 for some strange reason has the least appetizing food choices available.
Kung may CafeFrance, Ya Kun Kaya Toast, or even a 7-11 (which now sells fruit, salads, etc–even balut/penoy maybe it would be a bit more bearable (food wise) and those old-timey concessionaires will be forced to up their game and improve their food.

Oh I didn’t know you could bring in food from outside (except if it’s for a baby) for consumption while waiting for your flight. Next time nga I’ll bring na lang. Ridiculously priced ang food sa NAIA. The iced coffee I bought the last time we traveled was pretty bad too. Jollibee or McDonald’s should really put up shop inside the terminal. Bakit sa waiting area ng arrivals meron, sa loob wala.

yeah even the sandwiches at Bo’s coffee inside the naia1 look tired and aging. lol. i only order americano that time. And i sneaked in my pulvoron and macaroons from outside to whilst away my hunger. Such is life inside the Naia 1 ..All foreigners are looking for something decent to eat. Not even an outlet for charging your cellphones, you should provide your own connecting outlet.anobayan!

Ano ba yan what junk is this, is this how you eat and teach/show your kids how to eat? Jollibee fried chicken and rice, what nutritional value do you get from that? No wonder some kids don’t know how to eat, because they simply follow what their own parents eat.

judgmental much? clearly this food wasn’t served at home. This was the food CVS preferred given the circumstances. What do you expect pakbet? And have you never ever tried jollibee in your entire life?

Come on, it’s not really the ONLY food available or the ONLY place to get food. You can make your own or buy somewhere else. Convenience and whatever excuses you have is not enough to convince me to feed myself with this junk. Clearly this was a choice by the author and as the old adage goes, you are what you eat. We have choices and we can educate ourselves some more about what we shove in our mouths, where it came from, what’s it really made of. Or you can simply just not care. Take your pick. This could be a good start just my 2 cents – http://thechalkboardmag.com/category/food-nutrition/superfood-spotlights

So you eat healthy all the time, in whatever circumstance. You don’t have to rub it in our faces. We have the capacity and capability to eat healthy too, you know. Don’t have a fit over it. Smile and continue to eat healthy!

You choose not to eat “junk” as you put it, we respect that. At the same time, I think it’s not your place to stand on a soapbox and berate everyone who doesn’t live up to your super healthy lifestyle. You may not agree with others’ decisions to eat fast-food or anything else that is unhealthy, but again this is not your choice to make unless you are the one feeding them. Just because CVS eats at Jollibee doesn’t mean that’s the only stuff she eats.

Likewise, Jollibee isn’t the ONLY food Cecile eats, isn’t the ONLY place she gets her food from. If you had insight to what Cecile eats for every meal, every day, what she feeds to her boys, then go ahead. Judge away. But you’re basing your opinion and harsh judgement on what’s on this post, and maybe on what’s on this blog, her Instagram, and that clearly isn’t enough to say that this is how she “teaches her kids to eat”, and that Jollibee and “junk” is all what her and family’s diet is about.

“You are what you eat” you say. True. But I say, “You are what you post on comment boards.” So what does that make you?

Diyosmio..nobody’s trying to convince you to eat Jollibee..OA. I know a lot of pa healthy people who have high blood pressure because they stress over what they eat and what other people eat..or what simple thing they bring to the airport to tide them over.

I eat very healthy as well but for me it doesn’t need to be
every meal/365 days a year. Occasionally I allow myself to eat something not so
healthy simply because it is convenient and just because I want the taste of
something. I think most people strive to eat healthy but I think it is also
psychologically healthy to go off the regimented way of eating once in a
while.

since 9-11, airports have disallowed/restricted bringing food from outside eateries/restaurants in to the airport when checking in for a flight, likewise no bringing of food from outside into the aircraft. you can only purchase from food outlets within the premises of the airport as these have been “cleared” by airport security. same ruling applied when they restricted bottled waters.

plus, the food outlets inside the airport would lose income if airports allowed it.

It depends on the food. If it’s liquid or gel-based (like a jar of caramel sauce or a Snack Pack pudding cup) then you won’t be allowed to bring it in under the LAG restrictions. All other foods are allowed, unless of course a certain airport/country has restrictions. I’ve been able to handcarry all kinds of food items from Tita Paring’s Suman Latik to Conti’s cheese puffs to Pierre Herme macarons with no problem at all.

A lot of decent fast food chains are available in NAIA 3 – Yellow cab, Shakey’s, Kenny Rogers just to name a few. And some few coffee shops before the boarding area. Unfortunately, only a few foreigners get to use that airport. Sigh.

Saw an article dated April 2012 stating that 3 international airlines would be moving to NAIA 3 in 2013, but they’ve been saying stuff like that for years so who knows… Have previously heard that airlines refuse to transfer because the fees are higher at NAIA 3 which is somewhat confusing since Cebu Pacific, which is a budget airline, can afford it, but then again they probably get a better rate.

That would be Delta Airways, Cathay Pacific and Emirates. Although back in 2010, there have been news reports regarding Cathay Pacific transferring to NAIA 3. Ano kayang nangyari?!? Sana this time totoo na.

Try flying ANA (Star Alliance) to Japan next time. They are the only foreign airline that currently uses NAIA3. Yes, the food outlets in the pre-departure area are relatively decent compared to NAIA1. They even have National Bookstore inside. Outside, they have a 7-11 and Jollibee on the second floor.

You don’t have to be a passenger flying out of manila to enter NAIA 3. I say, field trip! LOL! I was just there yesterday to see someone off. They actually have more than just fastfood. Good concessionaires! Maybe PL can open a branch there? Looks like management is different from that of NAIA 1 and 2.